Happy Labor Day

                                Sonnet XXXIV(you are the daughter of the sea)

                        You are the daughter of the sea, oregano's first cousin.
                                    Swimmer, your body is pure as the water;
                                     cook, your blood is quick as the soil.
                        Everything you do is full of flowers, rich with the earth.

                       Your eyes go out toward the water, and the waves rise;
                         your hands go out to the earth and the seeds swell;
                        you know the deep essence of water and the earth,
                                 conjoined in you like a formula for clay.

                                Naiad: cut your body into turquoise pieces,
                                 they will bloom resurrected in the kitchen.
                              This is how you become everything that lives.

                             And so at last, you sleep, in the circle of my arms
                             that push back the shadows so that you can rest--
                         vegetables, seaweed, herbs: the foam of your dreams

                          by pablo neruda translated by stephen trapscott

Hmmmm.....

I left comments on my blog that disappeared. Also Mommylove I have left several comments on your blog that have disappeared. Are you getting them? shellie

always and forever my babies

my little monkeys
scenes from this summer
kim from jikits left a link for a post called the sweet spot in one of her comments
its a great read especially if you have kids
time goes by so slowly yet so quickly
its so easy to get distracted and frustrated
so i kiss them and hug them as much as i can
and try to have fun
sometimes its not as easy as you would think
thanks kim!!

Salad

Where are you?
Want some?

St. Anns

St. Anns is a small ocean front beach. I love it. My favorite is Victoria but there are no restrooms within walking distance. I adore Laguna beach.

No I havent disappeared completely.
I am still here.
This year has been very hard for me.
Essentially all of my time goes to my children and the succulent business.
I am grateful.
But I have felt backed up and empty creatively and without an internal push.
Since December I have been quite depressed and trying to find ways to dig myself out.
Time.
I think I just needed time.

So with that...
This is where I was this morning and afternoon for about four hours.
It was perfect.

Watercolor paintings

I really do have a thing for hearts. I finally finished this little piece. Someday soon Im going to have to get these small paintings up in my shop. What have you been doing?

CNN grieves that guilty verdict ruined 'promising' lives of Steubenville...

did you see this? he raped someone. it doesnt matter if people were drunk or on drugs. he raped another human being because he thought it was okay. what if that was your daughter?

Chocolate Cake

 Sometimes you bake without thinking

 What? You dont ever do this yourself?

 So the pan I used was too big for the recipe but now I know what to do next time

 Its heavenly chocolate cake from Smitten Kitchen. It still turned out delicious. My pan was too large so my cake was a little bit too thin.

You know when I am having telephone conversations I find myself saying things like cake is really important to me. Yeah I wanna be the girl with the most cake. This mouth eats a lot of cake. Its true. You should be here. I have coffee and espresso as well. Also yippee for the time change. That is all. :)

Cobalt Violet

So I needed more paint and sometimes these little old tubes I have get dried up a bit. So I gutted it like a fish. I love this color. I could get lost in it. Oh yeah working on some little drawings and paintings too.

Lemons

So this year no one hijacked my lemons. It was imperative to make more delicious treats with them. I had never made lemon bars before. OH MY GOODNESS! Such lemony  goodness. It makes me think of the lemony snicket. 

"...if we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting the rest of our lives..."

- Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator -

And with that its time to make stuff happen. Right?
oh here is the recipe if you want it here. Go ahead make it.

Blue

I just want to know when winter is going to be over. It has been really hard emotionally and I am ready for a change. Ready for sunshine and spring smiles. Oh I know I have it easy here in Southern California. I know. How are you all doing? I am still here. Trying to be better and trying to work on more art and cooking. Sometimes the blues last for quite a while. I am ready for this cycle to be over.

Its a me montage....

it was my birthday last week and i got all instagrammed up for you. woo hoo im 43.

So My Oven Was On The Fritz....

 which meant heart shaped peanut butter and jam sandwiches

 store bought treats

 honestly it did make things much easier

and chocolate mustaches

whaddya mean you dont like valentines day?

Last Week

                                                                There were decorations.........

                                                                   There was bingo

                                                    There was stick the heart in the heart

                                                                   and party favors.....................

My little Valentines

what a hectic day but it was fun!!!!

Happy Valentines To You

We hope you have a great day. This is my favorite holiday of the year. It always has been as I love the romance of life. It has never been about romance between the sexes for me which may be why I adore it so much. Dont get me wrong though. I do enjoy romance between the sexes. These are Sophies special cards she made for her teacher and her party guests today. There will be pictures.

All My Heart

Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah

Some call me the gangster of love

Some people call me Maurice

Cause I speak of the pompitous of love...

The Joker by the Steve Miller Band. I didnt come up with those words on my own.

This is a series of 43 hearts I rolled baked and painted. They are my own hearts. Each is different because every love you have and encounter is different. February is a special time for me as it is my birthday month and it also contains Valentines Day. This is my most favorite holiday ever since I was a child. they are available in my shop now. I love love...even when it breaks your heart.